As we continue to rollout Klocwork Insight 9.5 our message around making static analysis simple is taking hold. To put the change we’ve made into its appropriate context, let’s think about how spell checkers mainstreamed, and how a somewhat obvious (looking back) usability change turned this amazingly...

As we continue to rollout Klocwork Insight 9.5 our message around making static analysis simple is taking hold. To put the change we’ve made into its appropriate context, let’s think about how spell checkers mainstreamed, and how a somewhat obvious (looking back) usability change turned this amazingly useful technology from something you do at the end of writing a document, to an activity that just automatically works while you create documents, making people more productive in the process.

Two Different Spell Checker Usability Models

On the surface the difference looks subtle but the changes are huge. The first scenario required the user to take action, interrupt their workflow, and was a “separate” activity from writing a document. The usability model we’re all familiar with now is naturally incorporated into a writer’s workflow. It still does the same thing: it checks your spelling against its dictionary, provides suggestions, and will auto-correct for you. But the difference in ease-of-use and end-user adoption of the technology has obviously been huge.

That’s what we’ve done with static analysis. We’ve taken a complex analysis technology that used to only live at integration build time, moved it down to the desktop in 2008 (much like the usability model on the left above), and now with Klocwork Insight 9.5 have introduced the model to the right. Here are some links to short Klocwork Desktop Analysis for Visual Studio demos showing this capability in-action.

About the Author:
Brendan Harrison

I'm Klocwork's VP of Marketing and responsible for all of the company's product and channel marketing, communications, press relations, and demand generation activities. I've been in the development tools space for almost a decade, so will try to post interesting content related to industry or technology trends that I'm seeing.